What is Cipher Projects?

Cipher Projects places managed AI engineers, month to month. Your engineer builds agents, automations and integrations, and we direct and security review the work from Australia. When the path is a system, we architect it and can build it.

What does the managed AI engineer do?

The engineer builds in your tools and repositories: agents, automations, integrations, search over your documents, and the cloud platform they run on. We set the technical direction and review what ships. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call.

Who hires Cipher Projects?

Founders and operators stuck on AI choices. Also funded founders, B2B SaaS companies, scaleups, enterprise engineering teams, and government suppliers. Work is worldwide, with a deep focus in Australia and Singapore.

How much does Cipher Projects cost?

An AI engineer starts from A$7,900 a month in Australia, S$7,100 in Singapore and US$5,500 everywhere else, exclusive of tax. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call. The AI Assurance Audit starts from A$2,650 in Australia, S$2,400 in Singapore and US$1,830 everywhere else, and the fee is credited if you proceed.

Does Cipher Projects do AI governance?

Yes, as part of the design. We design identity, access, audit trails and evidence aligned to SOC 2 and ISO 27001. We prepare the environment for an external assessor. Certification is a separate third party audit.

Who founded Cipher Projects?

Keith Vaughan founded Cipher Projects in Canberra in 2023 and is Founder and CEO. Operations are run by Phuong, an AI agent, with a team of humans across Australia and Vietnam.

Where is Cipher Projects based?

Headquarters are in Canberra, Australia. Engineers are based in Australia and Vietnam. Clients are worldwide, with deep focus in Australia and Singapore. The contact address is hello@cipherprojects.com.

About

About Cipher Projects.

Cipher Projects places a managed AI engineer on your projects, month to month, from A$7,900 / US$5,500 / S$7,100, directed from Australia and delivered from Vietnam. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call.

Book a free 30 minute call

Work

What Cipher Projects does

The engineer works in your tools and repositories on the job you set. We set the technical direction, review what ships for security, and handle the management.

Managed AI engineer

Your engineer builds agents, automations, integrations and the cloud they run on, in your repositories and cloud accounts. One invoice covers the month, with flexible project length.

Production build

Agents, workflow automation and the software around them ship in accounts you own. You hold the IP.

Software architecture

When the path is a system, we design the software, the cloud and the data it sits on, for the business you already run.

Security and governance

Identity, access control, audit trails and evidence aligned to SOC 2 and ISO 27001 sit in the design. Certification is a separate third party audit.

AI Assurance Audit

The AI Assurance Audit is the other way to start: a fixed scope review of the AI and systems you run, with a written roadmap. The fee is credited if you proceed to an engineer or a build. From A$2,650 / US$1,830 / S$2,400.

Difference

What makes Cipher Projects different

The audit can say to leave it alone

Most of a shortlist should stay as it is. We name what to automate, then architect only the path that should exist.

The first invoice has an end

The engineer is one invoice a month, with flexible project length. The audit is a fixed fee, credited if you proceed. Maintenance after a build is optional.

You work with the people who own the architecture

Cipher Projects is led from Australia, with engineers in Australia and Vietnam. You work with the people who set the technical direction.

The path is chosen before the repository

Open source or a named model, what to automate first, and what to leave alone are answered before anyone writes the system.

Governance is part of the design

SOC 2 and ISO 27001 show up as evidence in the design. We prepare the environment for an external assessor. Certification is a separate third party audit.

Clients

Who uses Cipher Projects

We work worldwide, with a deep focus in Australia and Singapore. A poor fit is PC repair, a managed IT helpdesk, a brochure site tweak, or an engagement that only needs a compliance assessor.

Founders and operators who cannot tell what to automate with AI.
Funded founders who need a plan before they hire or build.
B2B SaaS and software companies.
Scaleups and enterprise engineering teams.
Government suppliers.
Teams in financial services, healthcare and critical infrastructure.

People

The team behind Cipher Projects

Cipher Projects was founded in 2023 in Canberra. Cloud and security came first, from defence, enterprise cloud, and managed security on AWS and Azure. Client demand pulled that work onto AI: which systems to build, and the software those systems run on.

Keith Vaughan, Founder and CEO

Keith leads the company. His background is defence, enterprise cloud, and managed security across AWS and Azure. The same work now covers the systems the engineers build.

Profile LinkedIn Keith Associates

Phuong, Operations Manager

Phuong runs operations. Phuong is an AI agent.

A team of humans

The people on the work are human, across Australia and Vietnam.

Working together

How Cipher Projects works

Communication

Write to hello@cipherprojects.com or use the contact form. You work with the people who set the technical direction. An engineer joins when the path is a build.

Response time

We reply within 24 hours. Critical support, once a system is live with us, is the same day. An engineer is typically in place within 14 days when that is the path and a seat is free.

Onboarding

The first conversation is a free 30 minute call. We say whether an engineer is the right fit. If you want a smaller start, the next step is the AI Assurance Audit, and you can stop there.

Turnaround

The engineer is one invoice a month. The audit is the scoped first piece, and the fee is credited if you continue. Maintenance after a build is optional. See pricing.

Record

Key facts

A machine readable copy of the older company record lives at company facts file and on the company facts page.

Company name	Cipher Projects Pty Ltd
Type	Managed AI engineering company
Founded	2023
Founder	Keith Vaughan, Founder and CEO.
Operations	Phuong, an AI agent. A team of humans across Australia and Vietnam.
Headquarters	Canberra, Australia. Engineers in Australia and Vietnam.
Website	https://www.cipherprojects.com/
Core offering	A managed AI engineer, month to month, from A$7,900 / US$5,500 / S$7,100. The AI Assurance Audit is the other starting path.
Pricing	An engineer from A$7,900 / US$5,500 / S$7,100 a month. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call. The audit starts from A$2,650 / US$1,830 / S$2,400, credited if you proceed.
Contract terms	The engineer runs with flexible project length. The audit is fixed scope. Maintenance after a build is optional.
Services	Managed AI engineers, software architecture, production build, security and governance, and the AI Assurance Audit.
Communication	hello@cipherprojects.com. Reply within 24 hours. Critical support is the same day once a system is live with us.
Notable clients	Published case studies are anonymised under NDA: an insurance broker platform, a sports membership platform, an advertising video pipeline, and a research document workspace. Case studies.
Customers served	No public customer count. Clients are founders, SaaS companies, scaleups, enterprise engineering teams, and government suppliers. Worldwide, with deep focus in Australia and Singapore.
Projects delivered	4 case studies are published. A lifetime project total is not published.
Competitors	Deloitte, Accenture, EY and DXC sell programmes and staffing. Cipher Projects places a managed engineer, and the audit can say to leave the work alone.
Social	LinkedIn Facebook Instagram GitHub X Keith Vaughan on LinkedIn

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Who we are, what the engineer costs, and where the work happens.

What is Cipher Projects?: Cipher Projects places managed AI engineers, month to month. Your engineer builds agents, automations and integrations, and we direct and security review the work from Australia. When the path is a system, we architect it and can build it.
What does the managed AI engineer do?: The engineer builds in your tools and repositories: agents, automations, integrations, search over your documents, and the cloud platform they run on. We set the technical direction and review what ships. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call.
Who hires Cipher Projects?: Founders and operators stuck on AI choices. Also funded founders, B2B SaaS companies, scaleups, enterprise engineering teams, and government suppliers. Work is worldwide, with a deep focus in Australia and Singapore.
How much does Cipher Projects cost?: An AI engineer starts from A$7,900 a month in Australia, S$7,100 in Singapore and US$5,500 everywhere else, exclusive of tax. Senior engineers and pods are quoted on the call. The AI Assurance Audit starts from A$2,650 in Australia, S$2,400 in Singapore and US$1,830 everywhere else, and the fee is credited if you proceed.
Does Cipher Projects do AI governance?: Yes, as part of the design. We design identity, access, audit trails and evidence aligned to SOC 2 and ISO 27001. We prepare the environment for an external assessor. Certification is a separate third party audit.
Who founded Cipher Projects?: Keith Vaughan founded Cipher Projects in Canberra in 2023 and is Founder and CEO. Operations are run by Phuong, an AI agent, with a team of humans across Australia and Vietnam.
Where is Cipher Projects based?: Headquarters are in Canberra, Australia. Engineers are based in Australia and Vietnam. Clients are worldwide, with deep focus in Australia and Singapore. The contact address is hello@cipherprojects.com.